Disc Brake Conversion

Hey guys i'm wanting to convert my 1970 c10 chevy from drum brakes to disc brakes. I don't have a lot of money in my project for this part of the build. Is there a year that would have the disc and what i would need on it i would be able to take it off of? Any advice would help thanks.

any 71 and up will work

these are simple to convert to disc

need donor truck or spindles rotors caliper hoses and so on

master cylinder

etc

use 71-up ball joints

Fast68 advice is well intended; however, it’s not entirely correct.

Disc brakes weren’t federally mandated on pickup trucks until 72. In addition, there were some spindle, upper/lower A-frames and chassis changes to the front end. The proper conversion is to find a donor 72 to 87 truck and swap the K-frame and the upper/lower A-frame with the spindles and the disc brakes calipers. Swapping these parts is fairly easy as they will just bolt right up to your chassis without any modification and cheaper than purchasing any aftermarket kits available.

Additionally, grab not only the master cylinder but the power booster too. Disc brakes don’t work too well without the booster.

Now to address anther issue you’re going to run across. From 72 to 87 Chevy only produced two blot patterns on their pickups 5 and 8 bolts. Your truck came with a 6-bolt pattern. However, there is a simple solution.

General Motors decided to reintroduce the six-bolt pattern for their 87 models and simply took the 5-bolt rotor casting and drilled it for the 6-bolt. Therefore, if you want to maintain your 6-bolt pattern on the front all you need are 87 and up 6-bolt rotors, which are readily available from any jobber. No modifications required.

Now you have it in a nutshell.

Thank you guys for your infomation. It was very helpful i believe that already found a 73 donor truck but it is eight lug. So i will just pick up some 87 and up rotors to complet the project thanks again for you help.

Sorry I have to make a correction on the last paragraph of my previous post. It's 88 and up rotors. It was late last night and I was tired when I posted.

If your going to use spindles that had an 8-bolt pattern the 6-bolt rotors may not work, I'm not sure, as I believe they accommodated 3/4 and 1-ton chassis. Everybody I know utilized the spindles that accomodated the 5-bolt pattern. Cross reference that with Advance Auto or some other jobber to be sure. However, the rest of the parts will work.

Thanks again for your info it is very helpful. I will see what i can figure out. I might be able to get a 81 five lug chevy for about $300. it's been caught fire and the inside is toast and the motor is gone but the brake booster and things i would need are still there. So $300 is cheaper than the set up for a new system. Thanks for sharing you info.